The holidays are a time for people to get together with their families and enjoy quality time together. While some students travel back home the weekend before Thanksgiving, many international students whose families live outside of the country are left alone during the holidays.
According to the BYU website, the university has around 1,306 international students of the 37,205 daytime students registered for the fall 2025 semester. BYU international students come from a total of 103 countries, with the top countries being Canada, Mexico and South Korea.
Tainá Carvalho, a BYU student from Brazil, said that Provo feels empty during the holidays and can get lonely at times. She tries to focus on her family and local friends who also stay in town.
“I try to find ways to nourish my relationships with them and also stay in touch with my family as much as I can over the phone," Carvalho said. "It can definitely get lonely and the city feels empty, but I remind myself this is temporary and it won’t always be like this."
BYU also offers some events and activities for those who are staying on campus during Christmas break. Many international students are invited to spend the holidays with friends, creating new traditions.
“I attend the lunch they have for international students over at the Wilkinson Center during Christmas break which is super nice. I also try to connect with people who are still around," Carvalho said. "The last two Christmases I spent with my friends' family who are also from Brazil.”
Even when students are planning on going home for the holidays, they have more hurdles getting in the way; it’s not as simple as purchasing a ticket and getting on a plane.
Priscilla Silva, another BYU student from Brazil, bought tickets to visit her family in Brazil over winter break, but a month before her scheduled trip she found out her passport had expired.
“The renewal process has made me consider the option of not spending the holidays with my family. It is a very sad thought," Silva said.
Silva said that this has been especially hard because she will miss her little sister's baptism and her other sister's mission call opening.
“This trip home is very important to me. I haven’t been home for almost two years now, so I miss my culture, the food, the weather and especially my family," Silva said.
For many, the holidays are about spending time with their families, but for international students, it's a time to connect with themselves and create deeper connections with the people and friends around them.